The expansion has been delayed several
times due to regulatory and environmental issues.

Trans Mountain Corporation President and
CEO Ian Anderson said the approval was a vote of confidence that the pipeline
would succeed.

“This is a major milestone, not only for
us, but more importantly for the shippers, communities, workers, local
businesses and Indigenous peoples who have been involved in the development of
the project and are waiting to share in its success,” he said.

“Today is the culmination of a lengthy and
thorough review that considered the thousands of hours of environmental and
technical studies, scientific evidence and meaningful engagement that were part
of the comprehensive assessment.”

Canadian Pipeline Association (CEPA)
President and CEO Chris Bloomer welcomed the approval and said the country had
made the right decision.

“This decision has been a long time
coming,” he said.

“Now that we have approval for TMEP, CEPA
encourages the government to move forward with construction immediately.

“TMEP must be built as soon as possible,
and steps should be taken to end government ownership of the pipeline.

“With these steps, we will start to signal
to the world that Canada is, in fact, open for business.”

CEPA estimates the project will generate
15,000 jobs per year during construction and produce CA$46.7 billion (US$34.9) in
taxes and royalties over the next 20 years.